Heritage of hard work and tradition

Heritage of hard work and tradition

Mai Samih is impressed by artist Zeinab Khalifa's lyrical
jewellery designs

[ندعوك للتسجيل في المنتدى أو التعريف بنفسك لمعاينة هذا الرابط]

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photo: Graham Waite

Zeinab Khalifa's jewellery blends gold and silver in designs that
ally the contemporary with the ancient, mixing ideas of Greek, Roman and
Eastern inspiration to meet 21st-century taste.
Her silver bracelets and gold necklaces have a character that is
different from more familiar designs. Khalifa, the artist behind the
collection, is a graduate of the Philosophy Department at the Faculty of
Arts at Ain Shams University in Cairo, and, beginning her career in the
1980s when she worked as an apprentice to traditional master
silversmiths in Khan Al-Khalili in the heart of Islamic Cairo, she
started from scratch like any other professional.
By the early 1990s, Khalifa had opened her own workshop and begun
exhibiting her work. Her first pieces were exhibited in 1997, and she is
now the owner of a workshop and gallery where her designs are produced
by highly-trained craftsmen. Her knowledge of the region's
jewellery-making traditions gives her work its distinct, organic
quality. Though Khalifa lives and works in Egypt, her designs have been
acquired by various private and institutional collections in America,
Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Her jewellery draws on traditional jewellery-making techniques that
she learned in Khan Al-Khalili, these being adapted to modern conditions
and allied with more modern techniques.
"I use traditional techniques, but I also try to modernise them in
order to bring them up to date," Khalifa says. Although she is not
against using moulds in jewellery making, she never uses them in her own
work since in her view jewellery making involves the craftsman, or
craftswoman, interacting with the raw material as the work is created.
"Anyone who works in the arts has a certain inward character if he
is self-aware, and this will predominate in his work," she explains.
Khalifa's work is inspired by Islamic designs, and this is apparent
in a necklace made in the shape of crescents and stars that resemble
those on the Turkish flag or the old Egyptian flag, with its crescent
and three stars. Islamic sculpture impresses her, and the designs used
in the mouldings on Islamic buildings provide ideas for her jewellery
designs.
Some of her ideas come from her own experience, while others are
drawn from everyday observation -- perhaps the design of a window, a
door, a piece of cloth or textile, or even a piece of metal. "I can't
say that I am inspired by any one thing," she says.
In Khalifa's view, jewellery does not have to use expensive
materials in order to be beautiful, and she argues that wood, iron,
stainless steel, enamel, silver, brass or ivory can be used in creating
original ornaments. "The most important thing is the piece's innovation,
creativity and originality," she explains.
Khalifa works with local materials, though she often has difficulty
estimating the value of the materials used in her jewellery. It depends
on the size of the piece, as well as the expertise and skill of the
person who made it. Moreover, "there are other factors that need to be
taken into consideration, such as the weight and the stones used in a
piece of jewellery. This will determine the value of the piece,
depending on the type of stone used. Another factor is the amount of
work involved, or the type and nature of the inscriptions on the piece."

The amount of time a piece takes to create will depend on the "mood
of the artist", the size of the piece and the number of people working
on it, she says. Khalifa prefers to work with a team of craftsmen,
feeling that this method gives the best possible results. "We work as a
team, and we complete each piece as a team. Each team member has his or
her specialty," she adds.